The Cursed Soul
_{Hawk
The shadow swept across the dark, shrieking so loud it echoed through the whole wood.
The beast was no deer, and certainly no myth. It glided through the night and soared
above the canopy, its wings coarse and torn. Its lifeless eye scanned the floor. Suddenly it picked up movement and focused in on a lone soal through the trees. It bellowed a low growl and dove through the air, slicing it as it went. The deer below peacefully grazed, not knowing the shadow lurked beside it. It also had wings, but beautiful ones, ones made entirely of feathers. The beast mumbled softly, invisible to its victim. The winged deer tensed its muscles, and slowly lifted its dark head up from the soft grass. He sensed something was wrong, and began to slowly flap his wings to fly. Suddenly, the shadow rumbled as it came out of hiding. Its skeleton mask glowing in the moonlight. The peaceful deer whipped around and began to fly off the ground on magnificent wings.
Its rival, the beast, followed. They soared through the canopy, in a race against time, the deer's life depended on it. The beast followed persistently. It didn't need to hurry, its moment would come. It flew with great power through the night, after its rival. It soon caught up and raked the deers fur, staining it with red. The deer squirmed and lost its balance for a moment, but it wouldn't give up without a fight. It took one massive hoof and kicked the beast in the chest, buying him some time to flee. It groaned and vanished into the pines and into the night. The feathered victim sighed and slowed down to a soft beating of its wings. Suddenly, a stab of pain overwhelmed the deer. It groaned and shook its head. The beast had returned and softly chuckled to itself. Its victim fell through the air and hit the ground with a thud, creating a boom so loud it could wake the sleeping deer from miles away. It staggered to get up, and noticed it couldnt see through its right eye. He panted and sighed, trying to take his mind off the pain. It was like an infection, spreading through his body so fast it seemed unbeatable.}

A Troubled Past
_Scarlet
The little fawn slept peacefully, wrapped in warmth in the shelter of the Great Oak. Her sisters pressed against her while their mother watched them with a loving gaze. She smiled and sighed, getting up to her feet and stretching her tired legs. She nudged her little bundles and whispered gently for them to rise for a new day. The fawn opened her brown eyes slowly and looked around at her sleeping sisters. She yawned and stood shaking her purple fur. Her mother reached down and nuzzled her, making her feel safer than ever. One by one her sisters rose to their tired feet.
"Come my little ones, we have a big day ahead of us." Her mother said gently as she walked out of the Great Oak, and into the forest. One by one, her fawns arose from the mighty tree and stood beside her. She looked around making sure they were all there.
"Miku, your here. Keena, your here." She mumbled to herself. She glanced back to the Oak
"Scarlet? Come on, sweety, we need to go." She called motherly. The little purple fawn popped her head out of the oak and trotted over to her mother. Her mother smiled "Good, lets go." She lead them to the pond, and told them to drink, they would need the energy the forest gave them to make it through the day. Scarlet slowly sipped the water as the fish danced around her. She watched them playfully and giggled as they went. Her older siblings sat under a soft willow and watched her with calming eyes. She pranced gracefully in through the clear water. She looked as if she didn't have a care in the world. As she wondered along the edge of the huge pond, several beautiful, bright butterflies floated past her nose. She sneezed and followed them intently into the woods. They swooped and flew next to her as if they were all playing a game. She laughed a little laugh and hopped through a patch of flowers. She stopped in the middle of them and sniffed the air, trying to catch their sweet scent. What she smelled was not flowers, but a dark, stuffy smell. She froze and raised her head to look at the sky through the tree tops. A trail of black cloud was leading from the way she came. Panic shivered through her spine and she jumped out of the patch and bolted to the pond. As she ran, dodging the large trees, she screamed through the thick air.
"Mother????" Her voice was worried and scared. The forest got blacker and blacker as she ran, and it made her cough and feel sick. "Mother, where are you?" She called as she neared the pond. Deer were frantically running every which way. They were screaming and whispering.....crying. Young Scarlet too began to cry. She raced around the edges of the pond to where she last saw her family. No one but a sleeping deer lay in the heaps of smoke. She coughed once more and was about to turn around, but something rock hard hit her. It was an older deer, beluga pelt and old worn antlers. It looked down on her. "Run, my child of the forest." It rasped. "The fire is coming." As he said this, she glanced back and saw a ring of fire scorching its way to them. She stared up at the wise old buck with wide eyes and ran off into the forest to the Old Oak, not looking back. When she reached the Oak, her small hooves and legs ached. She looked inside to find lifeless bodies of deer, innocent deer, overcome by smoke. She walked among them to find her mother, eyes closed. "Mother,.....no." She coughed once more, and ducked down under the smoke. She stared down at her body and noticed her stomach slowly rising and then sinking back. A glimmer of hope rushed through her. "Mother? Please talk to me!" She pleaded. Her mother's ears twitched and she slowly opened her eyes. "Scarlet, i-i was so worried about you." She coughed deeply, breathing in more smoke. Scarlet touched her dry nose to her mother's neck. "im here now. Where are Miku and Keena?" She whispered. "Gone." Her mother replied softly. "Scarlet, listen to me. You must promise me, no matter what happens, you wont give up." Her voice was trailing off. Scarlet looked down in disbelief. "You can't leave me!" She screamed. Her mother closed her eye slowly. "You will see me again, I can promise you that. I will watch over you until the time is right." Scarlet watched her mother become weaker and weaker. "Can you promise me?" She asked despretly. All Scarlet could do was nod. Her mother smiled a half smile. "Thank you." And turned to dust.